My last blog post left me feeling maternal and gushy (which doesn’t happen very often, just ask my kids!), so I’m feeling compelled to blog about the song which shares my daughter’s name (strictly coincidence, I tell you)…of course, that song would be Chloe.

The first thing I’ll mention is that the lyrics were not written by Bernie, but by Gary Osborne. And that’s ok, people, that’s ok.

I didn’t name my daughter after this song, although it is quite a perk! (She won’t admit it, but I’m pretty sure she thinks it’s cool to have her own EJ song). Anyway, I’ve always loved the name Chloe, so the song had an advantage from the get-go. What a beautiful name…and what a beautiful song!

How come you’re so understandingWhen I tell you all my liesAnd pretending to believe themSee through all my alibis

I remember thinking “How French” when I first saw the album cover…and hearing the song Chloe, Just Like Belgium and (later) Donner pour Donner, I think I was right. I am an unabashed francophile, so another reason to love this song!

How you handle what you live through I can never hope to learn Taking all the pain I give you Loving blindly in return And I need you more than ever I will always be your friend Chloe, Chloe

I also love the Carla/Etude and Fanfare intro to Chloe…I’ve always enjoyed and appreciated it when Elton does it up big with an orchestral arrangement or classical feeling. And his voice is big to match in this song. I really enjoy listening to all three pieces with my eyes closed (preferably when I’m not driving).

Chloe, what you gonna do about meChloe, what you gonna doWhat you gonna do about me

Believe it or not, I saw the video for Chloe for the first time tonight on YouTube. If memory serves me well, I believe this was pre-MTV, so videos weren’t de rigueur. And now that I’ve seen it, the video, too, seems very French to me, with Elton all harlequin-esque.

While googling and Wikipedia-ing, I also found out that Elton recorded ten videos for all of the singles from The Fox – the collection is called Visions. Something I didn’t know! I’ve got to get my hands on that! Does anybody out there know where I can find a copy?

Yes, you were born on Christmas Day, but that pauper to a pawn stuff is stretching it…in any case, I just love that your parents chose Levon as part of your name.

It’s hard for me to imagine the world that you will grow up in. You will be exposed to so many luxuries, so many privileges, so many experiences…of which most of us could never dream. I hope and pray it is a much nicer, kinder world for you than the one it’s been for the past few decades. I know your parents will do everything in their power to ensure that it is for you.

It should go without saying, but I will say it anyway…you are blessed. And not just because of the riches and celebrity of your parents, but because you should always know that they love you…they chose to bring you into this world, despite all the odds and (unfortunately) criticism.

The one thing I can imagine is your Dad singing so many songs to you, some of them his, but many of them not, because he would want you to appreciate all kinds of music, just as he does…I fully expect that this will be one of them…

I need you before I’m too oldTo have and to holdTo walk with you and watch you growAnd know that you’re blessed

Welcome to this world, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John! And not only do you have the love and adoration of your parents, you have many, many virtual godparents around the world sending all their love and blessings to you, too.

Always Captain Fantastic!

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The Playlist

All Quiet on the Western Front
All That I’m Allowed (I’m Thankful)
American Triangle
Amoreena
Answer in the Sky
A Word in Spanish
Be Prepared
Better Off Dead
Between Seventeen and Twenty
Birds
Blessed
Blue Avenue
Blues for Baby and Me
Border Song
Breaking Hearts (Ain’t What It Used to Be)
Burn Down the Mission
Burning Buildings
Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Candle in the Wind
Cage the Songbird
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Carla/Etude/Fanfare
Cold as Christmas (In the Middle of the Year)
Come Down In Time
Chloe
Club at the End of the Street
Curtains
Ego
Elton’s Song
Emily
Empty Sky
Foreign Fields
Friends
Funeral for a Friend
Good Morning to the Night
Grey Seal
Gulliver
Hakuna Matata
Harmony
Hay Chewed
Healing Hands
Heavy Traffic
Hercules
High Flying Bird
Home Again
I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)
I Just Can’t Wait to be King
I Must Have Lost it on the Wind
Idol
I’m Still Standing
Japanese Hands
Latitude
Levon
Love Builds a Garden
Little Jeannie
Made in England
Mandalay Again
Mansfield
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
My Quicksand
Old ’67
Original Sin
Out of the Blue
Paris
Pinky
Planes
Razor Face
Reverie
Roy Rogers
Sad
Sartorial Eloquence
Sixty Years On
Skyline Pigeon
Song for Guy
Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word
Step into Christmas
The Bitch is Back
The Captain and the Kid
The Circle of Life
The Greatest Discovery
The Last Song
Theme from a Non-Existent TV Series
This Song Has No Title
Tiny Dancer
Tonight
Too Low For Zero
We All Fall in Love Sometimes
Weight of the World
Where To Now St. Peter?
Whispers
Writing
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